Conversations with a Chicana Teacher: Supporting Students' Transition from Native to English Language Instruction

Abstract

This article features a Chicana teacher, Alva Rivera, who, in a series of interviews and conversations over 3 years, described to us her approaches and philosophies that assist her in being highly successful with language-minority students. Her insighs provide practical applications of theory for working with language-minority students and are based on her personal experiences and connections within the Chicana/o community, her depth of professional development, and 16 years of teaching. Of particular interest is Rivera's ability to integrate relevant concepts from diverse educational models to meet students' needs and abilities. This professional knowledge base is exemplified in her ability to modulate language use and task difficulty so that students experience success in her classroom. The deep understanding of her students' families and their cultural backgrounds expressed by Rivera facilitated communication between the school and students' homes. Also, Rivera described how she supported the professional development of novice teachers working with language-minority students.